• Print Friendly and PDF
  • Print Friendly and PDF
Stan Phelps

Stan Phelps

9 INCH marketing
Stan Phelps is the Chief Measurement Officer at 9 INCH marketing. 9 INCH helps organizations develop custom solutions around both customer and employee experience. Stan believes the 'longest and hardest nine inches' in marketing is the distance between the brain and the heart of your customer. He is the author of What's Your Purple Goldfish? How to Win Customers and Influence Word of Mouth.
  • 0 comments 1,178 reads
    Posted on 2013-06-09

    Unlocking the Keys to Loyalty and Word of Mouth

    Today’s consumer is empowered. Companies need to differentiate themselves to stand out in a sea of sameness. Brands need to find ways to leverage their most important asset: current customers. Referrals and word of mouth are keys to future growth.

    This slideshare presentation makes the case for a paradigm shift in marketing. Focusing on the customer, instead of constantly chasing the prospect. It features nine marketing lessons from leading brands such as Apple, Disney, Five Guys, Kimpton Hotels, Southwest Airlines, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, Zanes Cycles and Zappos:

    Here’s a summary of the nine lessons: 

  • 0 comments 381 reads
    Posted on 2013-06-09

    Leading brands that give a “little extra” BtoB

    Special thanks to Derek Bildfell for inspiring this post. I had a chance to connect with Derek at the CXPA Member Information Exchange in San Diego.

    In Derek’s words:

    I haven’t seen alot of B2B Lagniappes, but I did teach the concept to my daughters Lemonade stand on the weekend!! What are your best B2B examples?”

    B2B examples are more infrequent, but I scanned the 1,001 + purple goldfish to find some noteworthy examples in this slideshare:

    Here they are by category:

    #1. Throw-ins (value) – little extras that are included with your product or service. They help you stand out in a “sea of sameness.”

    ...

  • 1 comments 555 reads
    Posted on 2013-06-09

    What’s Your Green Goldfish Executive Summary

    Motivation for employees is sagging.  Recent reports show that motivation has fallen off at more that half of all companies.  In difficult economic times, how can companies boost employee morale and drive high performance?

    The simple answer is doing the little extras beyond compensation to demonstrate commitment and caring.  What’s Your Green Goldfish examines how companies go above and beyond to capture the hearts of their employees. Creating signature extras that help them stand out from competitors, drive engagement and reinforce their culture. This executive summary outlines the Top 9 takeaways from the book, the ingredients / R.U.L.E.S. of creating green goldfish and the 15 different types of green goldfish:

    Here are the 9 takeaways from the book:

    #1. The Workplace is Changing and...

  • 0 comments 584 reads
    Posted on 2013-06-02

    Book review: Delight Your Customers by Steve Curtin

    Delight Your CustomersDelight Your Customers is a new book on customer service (AMACOM) by Steve Curtin @enthused. The official launch date for the book is June 11. You can pre-order it here, or opt to get the eBook right now by clicking here. I had a chance to review an advanced copy and it’s a classic. Steve uncovers the three truths of providing exceptional customer service and highlights seven key behaviors. Delight Your Customers is about doing the little things that authentically convey that you care. The little...

  • 0 comments 890 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-31

    Customer-Centric Lessons from Wells Fargo, Disney, Five Guys and Zappos

    Tell and sell traditional marketing is dead. The doctor pronounced it D.O.A at 10:13 a.m. EDT.

    traditional marketing is dead


    Cause of death was the empowered consumer:

    • Empowered to avoid advertising
    • Empowered to find their own information
    • Empowered to share their opinions.

    THE EXPERIENCE IS NOW THE MARKETING 

    Today’s marketers need to focus on what they can control… the experience of their current customers. The challenge is figuring out how to “plus” up the customer experience. Is there room for growth here? ABSOLUTELY. ...

  • 0 comments 566 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-18

    The post was originally featured on James Lawther’s Squawk Point:

    After studying 1,001 examples of companies that give little unexpected extras to employees, here are 5 easy ways to increase engagement from the new book, “What’s Your Green Goldfish – Beyond Dollars: 15 Ways to Drive Employee Engagement and Reinforce Culture”

    1. Onboarding

    onboardingYou never get a chance to make a first impression. Employees make a conscious decision during their first few months whether they will stay for the long term. Getting off on the right foot is key.

    Example: Intel’s (#534) new hires...

  • 0 comments 474 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-16

    Originally featured on MENG Blend:

    Making the Journey

    Motivation for employees is sagging.  Recent reports show that motivation has fallen off at more that half of all companies.  In difficult economic times, how can companies boost employee morale and drive high performance?

    green goldfish projectThe simple answer is doing the little extras beyond compensation to demonstrate commitment to your employees.  The Green Goldfish Project examined how companies go above and beyond to create signature extras, little...

  • 0 comments 305 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-11

    Lessons from McDonald’s, Starbucks, Five Guys and Chick-fil-A

    There are two types of glue (giving little unexpected extras) in customer experience. Those that address value and those that address maintenance. The goal is to be seen as high value and low maintenance. Value is the “what” of CX and maintenance is the “how.”  In What’s Your Purple Goldfish, the book describes 12 ways to exceed expectations. Six of those ways focus on maintenance, including the concept of being convenient. For Quick Service Restaurants (QSR’s), this is key to the customer experience. Let’s look at some examples from the top QSR’s:

    McDonald’s

    Thanks to Mark Beal of Taylor for sharing today’s article in the WSJ on McDonald’s. McDonald’s is making efforts to improve the ordering process to...

  • 0 comments 309 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-10

    About Coffee with Entrepreneurs Podcast:

    coffee with entrepreneursEvery morning you can find entrepreneurs coffee shops. When you are staring or running a business, caffeine is a large part of your food pyramid. These entrepreneurs are not only using the coffee shop to get their caffeine, but the coffee shops are meeting places, and more often then not, an entrepreneurs primary office.

    Host Houston Barnes of Barnes Law found himself in coffee shops at least a few mornings a week, having coffee with entrepreneurs. The conversations he was having with the people he was meeting, were just too good not to share. Thus Coffee With Entrepreneurs...

  • 0 comments 393 reads
    Posted on 2013-03-31

    Click below to have a listen:

    engaging brand podcast green goldfish

    The podcast covers the following:

    • What is your green goldfish?
    • Is it always about giving something extra?
    • Doesn’t an extra…..become expected?
    • Do you have to change culture to encourage employee engagement?
    • The importance of transparency for business management.
    • How employee engagement is not a substitute for great product
    • Is it about what you do or how you create employee recognition?
    • Employee engagement examples which cost nothing….
    • How employees don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses.
    • How the return on investment is the same for small...